Trade unionists gather at rally in Queen Elizabeth Theatre Plaza before demonstrating outside Sandman Inn construction site Friday. (See story). —Sean Griffin photo Ultra left disruption Cont'd from pg. 11 hands through democratically elected workers’ councils! For- ward to a workers’ and peasants’ government!”’ This is the line which in Chile led the ultra-left into becoming a counter-revolutionary force. It carried out adventuristic actions which isolated. the working class from its democratic allies and facilitated the military coup in- spired by the CIA. It is a line which allows for no compromises (not even in the interest of the working people), no political maneuvers and no flexibility in tactics. In short, proletarian revolution or nothing! : * % * The U.S. section of the union is in a tight box over a_ proposed longshore contract which narrowly failed to receive the required two- thirds majority for acceptance. The Canadian section was ordered back to work by Parliament when 55 per cent voted against a recommended settlement. The Militant therefore is all for revolution. It claims that a fighting leadership would have called for “all B.C. labor to join them (longshoremen) strike” and for “preparations to take the entire U.S. coast out in defense of Canada.” The main enemy of these sec- tarians is not the multinational corporations and their monopolies. It is the ‘‘Bridges machine’”’ in the ° U.S. and the Canadian Area Council of the union. To replace _ these leaders, they call for leaders _ who will support their caricature of the class struggle and work for ‘‘a workers’ party based on a program to fight for a workers’ govern- - ment.” There is room for honest and constructive criticism of the leadership of the union, on both sides of the line, but there is nothing honest or constructive in a general A leaflet distributed earlier in Vancouver by Canadian sup- porters of this American sect called for a general strike in B.C. “The B.C. workers are now in the unique position, as a potential spark plug for the North American labor movement. Either the workers will be forced to bear the brunt of the crisis or they will defend themselves and_ their organizations through militancy and solidarity, including a possible province-wide general strike against the government attack which could give impetus to defensive labor struggles con- tinent-wide.”’ General strikes against governments arise out of deep- going social contradictions, tur- bulent currents and a widespread feeling of indignation and anger. They do not take place because an isolated sect issues a manifesto. In the scribblings I have referred to, there is a mixture of anti- Sovietism, anti-Communism and a gross over-estimation of the possibilities arising out of the current longshore situation. It is only too easy to brand the leaders of the Longshoremen’s union as traitors to the working class, with no exception outside the ultra-left, and to call for wokers’ power. But if the revolutionary process in Film on Maoism The film ‘‘Maoism,” an expose, will be shown for the first time in Vancouver, in the lower Ukrainian Hall, 805 East Pender, Vancouver, on Friday, May 9at8 p.m. Running time: 45 minutes. Dialogue: English. The occasion will be a social evening sponsored by the new Vancouver City Committee of the Communist Party of Canada. Food will be served and there will be music for those wishing to dance. No admission charge. All members, friends and readers of the PT are invited. ve aelt sae NE ? ultra-left, Brelationship of forces, the real #4 problems North America was that simple, there would have been a socialist revolution a long time ago. It should also be noted that the Trotskyite literature distributed at the convention treated the Canadian section of the union as if its relationship to the international was the same as that of the members in Alaska or Hawaii. In short, there was no recognition of the fact that the Canadian section enjoys full autonomy within the international, particularly on questions of collective bargaining and political action. In their failure to recognize the necessity of a sovereign, united and independent trade union movement in Canada, the Trots share the same position as George Meany and company. For demagogic reasons, Canadian Trots will often pose as the best defenders of an independent Canadian trade union movement, but only as a maneuver to facilitate their disruption. Both the Canadian and US. labor movement are confronted with new challenges, and new possibilities for advance. To take full advantage of . these possibilities, there will have to be a- fight to replace policies of class collaboration with policies of class struggle. But the process of helping the working class to recognize its own self interest as an exploited class, and helping it to reach out and win allies in the fight against © the multi-national corporations and monopolies, will not be completed over night. Neither will be helped by impatient, super- revolutionaries. There are those in our trade union movement who pursue a policy of tolerance toward the ultra-left. Some for selfish reasons and others out of mistaken liberalism. We can agree that it would be wrong to classify the misguided followers of the ultras, particularly the younger ones, as enemies, along with the professional anti-. jaf communists, police agents and uy? informers. However, the starting 444 point must be an uncompromising’ A hostility and exposure to the theories, policies and actions of the based on the actual of the labor and democratic movements and the #. need to build left and democratic Pos, unity. Such exposures will make it 5 easier for the misguided followers to break with the hard core ultras, and will make it easier to draw them into friendly and principled dialogues with the left and progressive forces in the trad union movement. s, The NDP government will be urged to take a strong stand on peace issues when the government caucus meets with a delegation fromthe B.C. Peace Council in Victoria Wednesday, April 16. Arrangements for the meeting were completed some time ago. In a brief being submitted to the caucus, the B.C. Peace Council delegation, which will be joined by members of the Victoria Peace Council, asks the government to act on four issues: o To endorse the ‘Peoples’ Charter for a Just and Stable World Peace” which is_ being widely circulated in Canada; o To adopt a resolution in the Legislature calling on the federal government to insist that con- struction be halted on the Trident sub base at Bangor, Washington. (Such a resolution has been in- troduced by NDP MLA Peter Rolston but has not yet been voted on by the Legislature.) ; o Introduce a resolution in the legislature urging the federal government not’? to renew the NORAD agreement when it comes up for renewal in May of this year, and to remove nuclear warheads from Comox, B.C. o B.C. should take the initiative in suggesting a conference of western provinces to discuss the extension of trade with all coun- tries. The opening of the brief states, “Universal peace and security are indispensable for economic progress. We are living in an era of growing world detente. An end to the long agony in Indochina seems very near; the colonial wars in Angola, Guineau Bissau and oe oe Bruce Eriksen, above, was re-elected by acclamation Monday night as president of Downtown Eastside Residents’ Association (DERA). He said after his re-election that DERA plans to fight a proposed 21 per cent tax boost in and against cutback in services. the. ‘Mozambique are over. The age long dream of the peoples of thé world for a lasting peace at long last seems _possible.”’ i The brief says that ‘‘the preparations by the United States military to build a submarine an nuclear missile base at Bangor, Washington constitute an alarming — escalation of the arms race anda | reversal of detente.”? — It says that “‘the Straits of Juan de Fuca, already menaced by 0} — tankers, will become a_nucleat channel; Georgia Strait and the — whole Lower Mainland would be | nuclear | destruction should war break oul. | Moreover, such a base will ul — doubtedly be defended by US: |- military with the coastal waters | and air space on both sides of the — prime targets for border coming under their com trol 4 ——— SANDMAN Cont'd from pg. 1 : the board that Gagliardi had made it very clear from the beginning that the job was to be kept non | union. : He also testified that Phil Gagliardi visited the site at least once a week and that both Phil and | Bob Gagliardi had discussed with — him how to keep the carpenters union out. Several large demonstrations of © trade unionists preceded Friday's rally in efforts to prevent the Gagliardis from breaking wages and conditions in the construction — industry. Building Trades unions ha applied to the Labor Relations Board for action, pointing out that skilled work was being attempted with qualified workers and safety was being jeopardized as a result of heavy equipment being operated by unskilled men. Since construction was first — begun last spring, the Sandman Inn project has been the site of major efforts — spearheaded by the Gagliardis — to establish base for non-union contracting in the province. ‘ All of the subcontractors sup- — plying the project are non-uniod | operators and one in particular, Rempel Concrete, a Langley-bas company, has been bringing its concrete in from Washington. The supplier, in turn has been con- nected to notorious right-to-work — associations in the U.S. : Phil Gagliardi is also scheduled - to be a feature speaker at a con ference April 26 in Trail of the Associated Building Contractors, — another American import which — has headed the drive for non-union Ny contracting and right-to-work — laws. The Trail conference.has beet seen as an attempt to establish 4 | chapter of the association in B.C.